A Surprise
by Fizzy Starburst
Summary: Max returns home from college for the summer, and runs into an unsuspected friend. Maxanne. Max/Roxanne. Originally a roleplay, done by redhead-roxanne (Me) and gooftothemax for Magical Disney Role Play. Rated T for mild language.


**AN: So, this was my first successful RP thread. The thread, entitled "A Surprise", was completed between gooftothemax and I for Magical Disney Role Play (Join us! There's still tons of characters!). As this was a roleplay, I can not take full credit for the writing. Anything from Max's POV was written by Max's Mun. I wrote everything coming from Roxanne's POV and I edited it a little bit to better suit fiction than the roleplay.**

"Aw, c'mon Max!" PJ yelled, upset because Max wanted to go off on his own.

"Peej, you've got Bobby! Besides I just need a little, uh, fresh air." Max said trying to let his best friend down easy. As PJ and Bobby left in the opposite direction, Max headed toward his favorite spot in the whole park, the dock. He leaned against the railing as he watched the sun as it was just beginning to set. "Its beautiful" he thought to himself as he watched the sky's color began to turn a warm pink. Nearby, he saw girl sitting in a boat casually chatting with a friend. As he watched them he noticed something about one of the girls. "Wow, she really looks like…like Roxanne!" he said aloud.

His demeanor changed as he looked closer, an excited feeling beginning to rise up within him, trying to figure out if it was really her. Then suddenly, as if on cue he heard the friend yell "As if, Courtney!".

In an instant Max's hope fizzled out. "I should have known" he said to himself, leaning his head down to look at the water, "Who knows where Roxanne is now".

Little did Max know, Roxanne was a lot closer than he thought.

Just a few yards away, in the very same park, Roxanne was sitting on a bench, just taking in the fresh air and summer scenery. She sighed, as memories came flooding in of the previous summer. Stacey leaving for Oxford, Max going away to college with not so much as a goodbye…

She ran a hand through her hair letting out a deep breath she wasn't even aware she was holding.

She needed a change of scenery, she decided, so she picked herself up off the bench and began to head to the marina.

* * *

Max soon decided enough was enough, he was through worrying about Roxanne. She had taken up enough of his time and energy, even though it was purely him stressing over her whereabouts. Besides, she didn't even bother to say goodbye when he left for college.

Max turned around and began to slowly walk away from the water, not feeling even the slightest bit better. His eyes remained fixed on the ground as he walked until he saw a small pair of feet wearing shoes he'd seen before. He looked up to see Roxanne, the _real _Roxanne, sitting on a nearby bench, studying a dandelion. He was stunned, "How-how could she? W-where did she?". He was so stunned in fact, he could hardly think straight! "What do I say?" he thought to himself frantically, "Should I say anything? Yes stupid your supposed to say something!" despite his bout of intense internal conflict, he noticed Roxanne was beginning to turn his way. "Get it together Max, you can to this just be…_smooth." _He slowly began to approach her, careful not to trip or do anything even remotely goofy-like. "Uh… h-hi Roxanne?" he said, his heart practically beating out of his chest.

Roxanne literally couldn't believe her eyes. She thought she was seeing things. All at once, so many emotions, so many thoughts, came bubbling to the surface."Max?" she asked quietly the first time, almost to herself. He didn't seem to respond at first, but it didn't matter, because he'd been there long enough, everything inside of her was telling her it was him. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, "Max!"

She didn't wait for him to respond before running over and hugging him.

She instantly regretted the action. They hadn't really left on solid terms, for all she knew, he was seeing someone else. But, for what ever reason, she found herself unable to let go. _'I forgot how good it felt to be this close to him…'_

"She's hugging me. She-she's _hugging me!"_ Max thought to himself, completely taken aback by Roxanne's sudden display of affection. All he could think was "I can't believe this. All this time she's been here, in Spoonerville, and I had no clue!". He just stood there with his arms around her,a goofy grin plastered across his face. Soon, she quickly backed away, a somber look on her face. "Did I do something wrong?" he thought. "So, uh…Roxanne. How's it going?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, a gesture he often did when he was nervous.

Roxanne hadn't wanted the embrace to end, but she had reluctantly pulled away. For all she knew, he wasn't interested in her _like that _anymore, and she didn't want to make it awkward. Feeling just as nervous as the young man in front of her, she began to play with her hair, her own nervous trait. "I've been good." she answered simply. "I've been here. I got a job, to be honest, Spoonerville's been pretty boring since you left." Realizing her mistake, she quickly added, "You know, since all of you left." Wanting to change the subject, she then asked, "So, how are things with you? How was college?"

Max noticed that Roxanne seemed a little nervous, which made him feel even more nervous. He'd been gone so long, he had no idea what had been going on in Spoonerville. Had Roxanne found someone else? Maybe that was the reason she seemed so fidgety, maybe she had a boyfriend and was worried she'd be seen in public with him. "Oh, uh college…yeah, um college! Its been great, really great. Yep, just the usual grind. Schoolwork, fraternities, my skateboarding dreams." Max was so caught up trying to appear cool again to Roxanne that he'd forgotten to say anything about what she'd been up to. "Oh, and about your job, that's great! I'm uh…I'm really happy for you. Max exhaled deeply, he didn't know what to do, what to tell her. All he knew was that he'd missed her so much, and he hoped she felt the same.

Roxanne knew Max, and she knew from the little tidbits he had told her, he was hiding something. At was at the moment she was absolutely sure, he had met someone else. I mean, why wouldn't he? She knew there was a couple girls in Spoonerville who'd been jealous when the two started dating, of course going to a large college would make him subject to that many more girls…

"Oh, a fraternity, huh?" she found herself asking, although she didn't know why. "Must have been a lot of parties…a lot of girls…" she trailed of. _'Damn it.'_she thought _'Why did I have to say that out loud?'_

"So!" she quickly changed the subject, "Are PJ and Bobby back, too? I know when Stacey gets home next month she was looking forward to having another party."

As she was talking, Max noticed Roxanne was acting a little…well, _different._She seemed more defensive than he remembered, especially when she mentioned the whole fraternity thing, which he hadn't actually joined. "Oh yeah, yeah Peej and Bobby are back in town too. We've been having a little adventure, seeing what's new, seeing if anybody _missed us._" Max soon realized what he said sounded a little more suggestive than he intended, though deep down he was dying to know whether she did or not. "So uh Stacey's thinking about having another one of her famous parties, huh? I think I might have to drop by this time, assuming no concerts or anything come up." he said with a laugh. "Oh, why did you say that? Now she's going to think you don't even care!" he thought to himself, worried that he just made himself seem like a total jerk.

Despite herself, Roxanne found herself smirking lightly as she told him "Oh, believe you me, the whole town missed you guys. What with you three and your dad gone…" she then finished, softly, and more sadly, "..it's been pretty uneventful."

She then suddenly remembered, "Oh! Yeah, Stacey's party. It won't be until she leaves the UK, and she'll probably want to settle in back home first for a little while. I guess her ad Bobby are still dating." she added offhandedly. "They really made the whole long distance thing work." she realized after she said it that it had come out a bit more bitter than she had originally intended.

"Yeah…that's right, they did." Max exhaled deeply once more, he wished he and Roxanne had done the same. Max sat down on the bench and covered his eyes with his gloved hands."Roxanne-" he stopped, though she probably hadn't heard him. All he wanted was to tell her…to tell her exactly what had been bombarding his mind since the moment he'd left Spoonerville. Be he felt it was too soon, and he wasn't even sure if he'd ever tell her. But he quickly stood up, changing his attitude completely. "So, are you hungry?" he asked with a smile.

Roxanne was taken aback at first by his quick change in mannerisms, but she brushed it off. This may be one of the only times she'd ever have with him this summer, if her instincts about him dating were right, she was going to appreciate these moments.

"Yeah, I kinda am, actually." she admitted with a slight giggle. "Why do you ask?"

Max didn't think she'd ask him why! It was a question he was in no way prepared to answer; the last the last thing he wanted was to sound pushy. "Uh, you know…I was feeling pretty hungry myself and thought maybe you might have been." He began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. "I just figured we could maybe grab a snack or something…like old times."

_"Get a snack? What are you, five?"_ Max thought to himself, figuring he looked like a total spaz.

Roxanne smiled at his answer. That sounded way more like the Max she knew. But what did he mean by "like old times". She really didn't want to get her hopes out…but…what if he really did mean…?

"Sure! I could go for snack." she responded happily, maybe a little _too _happily. "Like old times." she repeated quietly, more to herself then to him, a small silly smile plastering itself on her face.

"Really!" he exclaimed, surprising himself, he was hoping she'd say yes. "I mean, uh… great! Yes, great. Let's go then!" Max boldly grabbed Roxanne by the hand, he knew if she really was seeing someone else, she'd ask him to stop, because he knew she was an honest person. As he led her down the nearby sidewalk, his hand still firmly grasping hers, he tried to come up with something to ask. To make small-talk, though he really hoped he'd get finally get some answers. "So, what's your new job?"

It took Roxanne a minute to comprehend what she had been asked, because all that was running through her head was _"He's holding my hand! This means something. He wouldn't hold my hand if he was seeing someone else! I wonder if he'd notice if I intertwined our fingers….'_

"Oh!" she responded, after been taken out of her daze. "Work is good. It's just an office job. Making spread sheets, and stuff. I get to play with different colored highlighters!" she laughed. "That's about as exciting as my job gets."

Wanting to give him something to talk about (and partially because she was still the teeniest bit curious), she asked. "So? How was college life? Did you make any _new _friends, or did you just hang out with PJ and Bobby all the time?"

"Is she lacing her fingers with mine!?" Max was stunned, but in a good way of course. This was a good sign, a VERY good sign. But he couldn't let her know he was thinking about it. "College life? Oh its great, just great." And yeah I've spent a lot of time with Peej and Bobby, but I've made a few new friends here and there, some…nicer than others." Max thought back to that Bradley Uppercrust jerk, who was anything but a friend.

But maybe Roxanne was referring to something else when she asked if he'd made any new friends. Did she mean _girls? _Well, he did meet a _few girls,_ but nothing serious of course. None of them had that special something, that special something Max knew Roxanne had.

_"Damn it. He noticed " _she thought as she noticed Max glancing down at their hands after she had intertwined fingers with his. But then she noticed something else. He noticed and he didn't do anything about it. She was suddenly ecstatic beyond words. But she couldn't let it show. So while she was jumping up and down screaming "YAY YAY YAY YAY" in her head, on the outside she remained relatively cool and asked. "So, there was some not so nice people in the mix?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. But there's jerks everywhere you go…and some closer than you think." Max let go of Roxanne's hand and covered his eyes again, he just couldn't look at her. A jerk: that's exactly the kind of person he was for leaving her, leaving her without so much as a simple goodbye. Once he'd uncovered his eyes he noticed her expression, she looked totally confused. "Roxanne, do you…" he paused. "Ah, why is it so hard to talk to you!" he shouted, though he immediately regretted it. He brought his tone down again. "I mean…do you, do you _hate me?_ You know, for leaving you? and without saying anything first?"

That was it. He'd laid it all down on the line. "Aw, why'd you have to say that? Things were going just fine, now you've screwed it all up!" he thought. Max continued to fight with himself, between saying what he wanted to, and not looking like a complete idiot.

Needless to say, Roxanne was confused. She, too began shouting, "What?! Max, where is this even coming from?!" Suddenly, her emotions boiled over, and everything came spilling out "You know what? I was freaking pissed off when you left without saying anything! You know who I had to hear it from? **PJ'S DAD! **And you KNOW just how PLEASANT he is! And then winter break rolls around, and I hear you've brought some other girl home? How was _that _supposed to make me feel?!" she was blabbering now, saying things she didn't want to, but she just couldn't stop the words before they came out. "I was mad. I was really freaking mad. But I could never hate you." she finished quietly, almost unsure of herself, "No matter how bad I wanted to."

Through the extent of Roxanne's rant, all Max could think was "So she really did miss me? I mean even if in reality she was really just pissed off at me, at least I was still on her mind!" He also couldn't help but notice that she seemed really… _angsty_?"

But when she uttered the words_"I could never hate you…no matter how bad I wanted to." _He knew deep down that she still cared about him, even if he totally messed up. "That…that other girl, Roxanne, she wasn't like you. I know I brought her home when I probably shouldn't have, but I just needed something." He sighed deeply and then continued. "After we stopped seeing each other I was left with this hole, an empty space, you could call it, inside of me. I guess I was just trying to use her to fill it…you know what I mean?" He looked her straight in the eyes. "And that was wrong. Do you think you could ever forgive me Roxanne?" Even though he tried his best to hide it, Max could feel a slight, itchy feeling in his eyes. Sort of like…tears. "Whatever you do Max" he thought to himself, "DO NOT CRY!"

Roxanne downcast her eyes, not wanting to look at him as she quietly, and sadly replied "I want to, but…I can tell you that I can. I just don't know."

She hated doing this to him. She hating doing this to herself, but there was so much the two needed to talk about, so much that still lay under the surface. She wanted to forgive him, she really did, but if she found that she couldn't, she would've hated herself for lieing to him about it when he had asked.

Max's heart sunk a bit when he heard her say that. But how could he blame her? He wouldn't forgive himself either. Despite his sadness, Max shook it off. "Well, we can still hang out, right?" he thought to himself. "Hey Roxanne, are you still up for that snack?" He watched as she gave him a reassuring nod of the head. The two proceeded to the local diner, not holding hands, but still together.

* * *

**Me:** **D'aawwww! What a cute ending :) I once again reiterate: You are perf. I wish this one was fluffier. I really wanted them to get back together but Roxanne was all "NO! I'm still upset"**

**Max's Mun: Thanks! and you too. I wanted them together too…but soon perhaps. Maybe Roxanne will get over it, besides she only crushed Max's heart into a million pieces, no biggie. He still looooves her…**

**Me: OMG, way to hurt my feelings! this was Roxanne's doing, okay? NOT MINE. XD She's still in lurve with him, but she's afraid to trust him with heart again after he broke it the first time. But I guess she just broke his so now they're even? XD**

**Max's Mun: Exactly! Its fair game now! oh and btw sorry!**

**Me: I look forward to starting a new thread on even playing ground! XD I'm certain they'll get back together in the next one. And it's not a thing but a chicken wing! XD **


End file.
